Gerhart Leads Stanford Past No. 7 Oregon 51-42

Toby Gerhart and Stanford did to the Oregon defense what the Ducks did a week ago to Southern California, opening up the Pac-10 race with a program-defining victory.

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, second from right, runs past Oregon safety John Boyett (20) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(AP)

Gerhart ran for a school-record 223 yards and three scores, Andrew Luck threw for two touchdowns and Stanford held on to beat No. 7 Oregon 51-42 Saturday to become bowl eligible for the first time in eight years.

"This was definitely my biggest win since I've been here at Stanford," Gerhart said, ranking it ahead of the victory over No. 2 USC two years ago.

"I think it's definitely bigger than the USC win because it gets us to that bowl game. All our seniors, the goal coming in was to be a bowl team. This was by far the biggest win. The students storming the field, that was an awesome feeling."

Stanford had lost in its past five games with a chance to become eligible for a bowl and now are in position to play a postseason game for the first time since Tyrone Willingham's final year in 2001 after snapping a seven-game losing streak to the Ducks.

The loss by Oregon (7-2, 5-1 Pac-10) just a week after gaining 613 yards in a 47-20 win over USC cost the Ducks any shot at a berth in the Bowl Championship Series title game and took away any margin for error if they want to win the conference outright.

Oregon rallied with two late touchdowns to cut a 20-point lead down to six, but Stanford (6-3, 5-2) recovered an onside kick with 2:38 to go and tacked on Nate Whitaker's third field goal with 11 seconds left to seal the win.

"We got beat by a better team," coach Chip Kelly said. "If you say we got caught looking behind or looking ahead, it takes away from Stanford. Stanford is a heck of a football team."

Luck took advantage of vast open areas in the middle of the Oregon defense, completing four passes of at least 20 yards in the first half alone. Even when the Ducks had good coverage, Luck managed to connect with his receivers downfield.